Electric-current interrupter for ignition systems.



PATENTED JULY 2, 1907.

L. J. LE PONTOISQ awuwvtoz 85 5 who ELECTRIC CURRENT INTEERU'PTIEIR FOR IGNITION SYSTEMS. APPLIOATIGN FILED DEO.11,1905.

wi tmcooe o UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEON J. LE PONTOIS, OF NEW ROCHELLE, NEW YORK. ASSlXjXOlt TO ltlLY-PllARla ltiXITlOX SYSTEM COMPANY, CORPOllXllON OF NEW YORK.

ELECTRIC-CURRENT INTERRUPTER FOR IGNITION SYSTEMS.

No. 858,730. Specification of Letters Patent. Patented July 2, 1907- Application filed December 11, 1905. Serial No. 291,263.

To all whom it y 6071mm! Similar reference numerals indicate similar parts Be it known that I, LEON .I. LE Pox'rors, a citizen of in the several views. the Republic of France, and a resident of New Rochelle, I The breaker or interrupter herein described has been Westchester county, New York, have invented a cerl designed more particularly for use in connection with will W and useful p ove e t in Elec ric-Curren l a high tension current, generator described in an appli- Interrupters for Ignition Systems, of which the followl cation filed of even date herewith although it is capa mg isaspecification- 5 bio of use in connection with any suitable source of The usual method of utilizing the energy of a pricurrent. and shown as provided with means for varymary current for jump Spark igHi H Systems is to coning the time of interruption of the current and, there- 1 nect the circuit of said current, either in shunt or in series, with the primary of a suitable induction coil, the connection being opened and closed by a suitable fore, of the subsequent ignition.

Referring to the drawings inuneral l designates an 60 inclosing casing having, an end cover 2. This casing current interrupter which is generally shunted by the is provided with an opening in which is set a bearing Condenser- It has been the 11 1 m h 1 ope ating 3 adapted to receivri' one end of a shaft 4- \\'hichshaft is 1 said breaker heretofore by the combined action of a positively driven ata speed proportional tothe speed of cam and opposed spring. Difiiculties, however, have the internal combustion enginetowhich it is connected. arisen, especially at high speeds of interruption, inas- The rotation of the shaft is utilized to opcratethc current much as the contact mechanism must be substantial interrupter or breaker. This breaker consists essenenough to do the work required of it and possesses, l tially of a slide 5 adapted to be reciprocated vertically 20 therefore, a certain amount of inertia which must be between guide plates 13 and the outer face of the heat overcome by a spring having sufficient strength to close ing 3. The slide 5 carries a stem piece 7 to the lower the circuit at the proper time. This results in the end of which is brazed an iridium contact point 8 pounding or hammering of the contact surfaces which, which point is moved into and out of contact, by the when of iridium, tends to break theni as crystallizareciprocation of the slidefi, with another iridium con- 25 tion develops rapidly. Another difficulty heretofore tact point 9 brazed upon the upper end of a light copmet with results from the rapid deterioration of the per plunger 10, said plunger being capable of a slight contact surfaces due to the are occurring between vertical movement within a copper cup 11. insulated them at the time of the break. Theoretically it is front the main casing by bushings 12. The cup ll is possible to prevent the formation of such are by proppartially tilled with mercury the lower part of the erly balancingthe self induction of the system by a plunger 'lObcing immersed therein at all times to insure suitable condensance, but, as matter of fact, this bala perfect contact; between it and the cup 1.1 while said ance is very difiicult to obtain in practice being very plunger is beingv reciprocatetl under the action of the unstable at various speeds of interruption. I have stem 7 and a spring 15, the latter tending to'maintain.

sought to overcome these difficulties by operating the the plunger it) normally pressed against the under interrupter positively in both directions by cams face of a cap 14 which serves as a cover-for the cup ll. which cause the circuit to be closed very gradually and The 14 is provided with notches 15 adapted to enprogressively Without undue hammering of the contact gage a spring finger 16 for the purpose of regulating the surfaces, and to be broken very abruptly or suddenly position of the iridium contact point 9 relative to without injury to the cams since they only have to iridium contact point 8. The meicury cup 11 is proovercome the inertia of the moving element of the in? vided with a binding post 17 to permit of the desired terrupter instead of the same'inertia augmented by electrical connections.

the stress of the usual stiff spring. Furthermore, in ad- The reciprocation of the slide 5 is effected by two dition to the use of a proper condenser, I prevent the cams 1S and 19 mounted on a hub keyed to the shaft formation of a spark at the time of current break by 4, said cams engaging respectively rollers 20 and 21 causing said break to take place in a bath of a nonwhich rollers are carried by the slide 5 on pins 22 and volatile and electrically non-conductive liquid such as 23. At a certain point in the rotation of shaft 4 in the alight hydrocarbon oil or glycerin. direction of the arrow, Fig. 1, the cam 18 contacts The invention will be understood by reference to with roller 20, the face of said cam being so cut as to the accompanying drawings in which impart to said slide a progressive downward move- Figure 1 is an end view with the cover removed and ment. Toward the end of its stroke the stem 7 is the casing in section; Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal moved to such position that the iridium contact section showing the connection of the breaker-operpoint 8 thereon will be brought into contact With the atingmeaiis to its shaft; and Fig. 3 is a face view of iridium point 9. The plunger 10 is normally held in the reciprocating slide. its uppermost position by the spring 13 and when the downward lYPTGTllCl'lt oi the stem 7 takes place a firm ulil s: z .l between the two iridium points by liaison ol' rah. syring opposing the further downward uiov im n. oi he stem 7, the plunger 10 yielding vcry slightly undm' this pressure. At the limit of the throw of cam 18, cam ill will contact w ilh roller 21 imparting quicl; u rd IllOr'CIlZ-"Wli to the slide 5 ln lhc .vard niovrmient the sprin; l3 forces n lan e ill of lutplnr 1 gainst the llll(l{-l side thereby arresting the further upward it of said pliz 'r. The iridium contact and i w ll th n sparale al-rnptly from each points i;

.c :lll'(: i, or ilnupward movement oi the plunger ll) l the chin aiation of the upward rnownu-nt oi the 5. ity is to b uoted that by this 17lHilll(.'llOll th( are not subjcctnd lo the usual \i'car since they li e can be brought to any desired angular pos tion means of a lever 43 pivotally mounted on a stud 42 sug'iported in an opening in a bracket 41. Although the slide 5 is generally in actual metallic contact with so the mass oi the casing 1. either by the cam surfaces or the guide 6 it has been iound'that at very high speed an insulating oil film exists between the abovemenrioued surfaces and the slide. In order, however, to obtain a very good ground under all conditioiiis two copper brushes Mare made to pre s against the sides of the slides by means of springs hen he cam 19 suddenly raises the slide 5 and thereby the contact point 8, the inertia of said slide might cause it to move to such position that the roller 21 id be brought against the low point of said cam. This is prevented by causing the rounded head 25 of the slidc 5 to strike against a bumper comprising ahardened steel head 26 having a packing of rawhide 27, said rawlide packing being backed by a spring 28 bearing against a screw plug, 29.

The breaker terminals are shown as supported in the lower part of the casing l which forms a chamber adapted t receive a body of oil 46 which serves not only to surround said terminals but which may serve :31) as a lubricant as later described. By immersing the loriuiual points 8 and 9 in a bath of a non-volatile and electrically non-conductive liquid the heal; of any nascent arc is readily dissipated. through the mass of oil. and there is, therefore, no nucleus for the formation oi in arc which would lead to the rapid destruction of the iridium points.

The oil bath 46 additionally serves as a source of lubricant for the bearing of the sh ft 4.' The oil is carried up to the bearing by a chain 32 resting upon and canicd around slowly by its friction on said shaft. oil alter having been deposited on the shaft is am. red lliroughout the bearing by helical ducts 33, the excess oil being returned to the latter by means of a in 35 secured to the casing by bolts 36. The shaft (.3 ii med with a sharp upturned edge 34 upon which (iii the oil leaking from the bearing accumulate and from which it is thrown by centrifugal action into an an uular chamber 37 connnunicatiug with the latter by a duct 38.

The end plate 2 is formed with an opening closed by a transparent plate 4.0, the latter being secured. to the cover by any suitable means, thus permitting the timely observance oi any are which might take place betwecn the contact points 8 and 9 which arc may result from either a break down in the dielectric of the condenser or the insulation of the primary windings oi the jump spark coil. The transparent plate 40 also permits observation of the level of the oil bath and of the degree of carbonization oi the oil.

It other means are provided for the lubrication of the shalt bearing I may use glycerin instead of oil, as above described, within which to immerse the contact terminals. The casing is provided with an openins, closed by a plug 39 to withdraw the oil or glycerin should it become unduly carbonized.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a circuit breaker the combination of two terminals the contact points of which are immersed in a bath of a non-volatile and clcci'rically nonconductive liquid, 11 yieldin: support for one of said terminals, an insulated mercnrry cup into which the yieldingly mounted terminal pro- .lects at all times, and cams for positively reciprocating the other of said terminals toward and away from the yieldinc'ly supported terminal.

:2. In a circuit breaker the combination of two terminals the contact points of which are immersed in a bath of a non-volatile and electrically non-conductive liquid. a yielding support for one or said terminals, an insulated mercur-y cup into which the yicldlngly mounted terminal pro jecls at al times, cams for positively reciprocating the other of said terminals toward and away from the yield lngly supported terminal, and means for adjusting, the position 01' the latter relatively to the reciprocating terminal.

3. [n a circuit breaker the combination of two terminals, a yielding support for one of said terminals, an insulated mercury cup into which said terminal projects to insure continuity of contact during its movement, a spring to hold said terminal in its normal position, and cams for positively reciprocating the other of said terminals toward and away from the yieldingly supported terminal.

1. In a circuit breaker the combination of two terminals adapted to be moved into and out of contact with each other, a yielding support for one of said terminals, a slide to which the other terminal is connected, cams adapted to reciprocate said slide and the connected terminal toward and away from the yiclrlingly supported terminal, a guide for said slide, and contact brushes carried by said guide and adapted to bear against the reciprocating slide.

5. In a circuit breaker the combination of two terminals, :1 yielding support for one 01 said terminals, cams for p0sl-, tively reciprocating the other or said terminals toward and away from the yieldinclv supported terminal, and a casing in which said parts are supported, said casing being capable of. arv adjustment to vary at will the time at which the currcn interrupted.

6. In a circuit breaker the combination of two terminals adapted to be moved into and out of contact with each other. a slide to which one of said terminals is connected, means for reciprocating said slide positively in both directions to bring its connected terminal into and out of contact'with the other terminal, and a yielding cushion adapted to limit the movement of said slidev in one directlon 101' the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

Wltncssesi 0pm A. I 'oswnn, Guonem W. YOUNG. 

